Future
by LuigiWife1551
Summary: Slippy wasn't sure where he thought they would be when he told Fox how he felt. At the end of it all, Slippy is glad he made this decision, as the result was definitely worth the wait. A gift fic for my dear friend Ravonic- I hope you enjoy! First Star Fox fanfiction.


**Hello all! Time for my first Star Fox fanfiction!**

 **Okay, so first, I wanna thank one of the sweetest and awesome fanfiction reader/writer ever for this idea, Ravonic the UnderWorlder! It was his idea and prompt to come up with something that can challenge me while adding more to this very unknown pairing. This one is for you, my friend! :D**

 **Next, I don't know much about the Star Fox series- I've never played any of the games, and I only just learned about them back when Smash Bros. for the original Wii had came out. I loved Wolf and Falco, of course, and I had to do my research, but I would like to try the games out one day. This pairing is a new one for me, especially as I've never had to write a yaoi like this before.**

 **But for my dear friend, I will create this little piece and hope it's a good enough piece that he finds worthy.**

 **There's no particular time frame and I apologize in advance if the characters come off OOC- I think I had them in character but that's for you to decide.**

 **With all that said, please enjoy! I own nothing. Once again, thanks Ravonic! I hope you like this!**

* * *

 ** Future**

It started off basic enough. The alarm clock snapped off its usual blearing, irritating alarm, and a furry hand flew over to slam over top the thing, wondering if it was broken, before deciding he didn't really care much. He'd replace it later.

Throwing off the covers, Fox McCloud sat up and ran a hand down his face. Last night seemed way too foggy for him to remember- they'd had a party to celebrate little Slippy Toad's 30th birthday. It was a BLAST! Every last crew member was on deck for this one, even the grouch and bully Falco Lombardi- something that very much shocked both Slippy and Fox and...well, just about everyone.

Fox, Falco, Peppy, Krystal and the birthday frog himself made up the little ragtag party, but for Fox, it seemed that was all Slippy had needed nor wanted- he drank himself drunk and was acting a fool all night. Fox was concerned, yes, but could he blame him? It's supposed to be a good day, and by damn it was for his good friend.

Although... Fox groaned as his head started throbbing and his green eyes closed in pain and confusion. For the life of him, he couldn't quite remember what he had done after a few hours. He had a few drinks, sparred with Falco on his request while everyone else chuckled, and the last thing he remembered was Slippy asking to speak to him alone.

He opened an eye and was staring out in space as he tried to piece together what he and Slippy had spoke about. They walked out to the hall, and was heading towards the garage unit where Slippy worked on the many mechs for Star Fox... and he stopped at the doorway, demanding to know what was going on, and Slippy had been so nervous to talk to him...

Both eyes snapped open. Fox flew out of bed, clad in only white boxers and a beater. Holy hell, he needed to find Slippy and find him now!

Bolthing faster than he ever thought possible on a normal mission day, he first poked his head in Falco's room. Said avian was awake as well, and looked up with surprise at seeing his friend and rival standing at the door, looking frizzed as if Andross himself was chasing him down.

"Oi. Got somewhere to be, McCloud?" Falco asked, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. Fox panted, trying to catch his breath-and get his questions out right.

"S...Sl-Slippy... where is he?!" Fox spat out finally. At the question, the avian's eyes narrowed and he stood up.

"Dunno. Haven't seen him since last night. Why? Did the idiot do something stupid again?"

Fox shook his head no and when Falco opened his room door a bit more, allowing Fox to come in, he stepped in and leaned against the wall, pushing his hand against his skull in frustration. "Argh! It... it's not that, and he's NOT an idiot. I think... shit, I think I might of messed up..."

Now at that, Falco had gotten intrigued. He sat back on his bed and crossed his arms in amusement. This he had to hear.

"What did you do?"

Fox sighed heavily. "That's the thing. I don't know. I mean, Slippy asked me to talk to him a few hours after the party, and we went to the garage and..." He slid down to the ground. "... I can't remember anything after that."

"Oh, really? Are you sure you're just not in denial?" a feminine voice asked from next to him. Fox glanced up at Krystal, who was standing rather suggestively against the doorframe, her tight nightshirt revealing her chest. She winked at Fox, and both Falco and Fox stared at her, confused.

"W-What are you talking about, Krystal? What denial?" Fox asked cautiously. The knowing way she was smiling at her comrade was making fox a bit uneasy.

"Ugh, would you spit it out?! What are you blabbering about?! Lest I throw you out of my room!" Falco snarled, wondering when his room suddenly became the meeting spot for this ever growing weird convention.

Krystal winked at Fox again. "Aww, Fox sweetie, didn't you know? Slippy had a crush on you for a long time now. He came to me about it before his birthday and said he needed to tell someone or else he didn't know what he would do."

Both started laughing at the blushing, priceless expression that quickly fell over Fox's face. "If only I had a camera for this! This is priceless!" Falco exclaimed. "I wasn't ready for THAT one! Oooh, just wait til I see that little runt... he's gonna get it now!"

Fox blinked, hoping he had been dreaming and this was the part where he would wake up and maybe try and figure out the truth to his question. But when the laughing subsided, Fox was still looking at his two friends and his face was still horribly burning and his heart was racing irregularly.

"T-Tell... me you're joking..." Fox finally stammered. "K-Krystal, you're joking me, right?"

She shook her head no and stretched before leaning back against the door frame, one arm crossed, her manicured fingernail tapping her chin in thought. "Afraid not, Fox. Slippy asked to speak to me a few days before the party. Poor thing, he was sweating and shaking, he was so nervous. I asked what was the matter, and he kept stammering. When he could finally speak, he said he wanted to know how to approach someone he really liked but could never get the courage to admit."

Fox nodded slowly but he wasn't following the conversation. "O-Okay, but how do you know it was ME!? Slippy had a crush on you too, Krystal!"

He couldn't believe this. Slippy was his best friend, his companion, the very one he'd bared his heart to ever since the day they dropped out of the academy to find his father's remains... but a lover? He never thought he would see him THAT way... right?

Krytal simply looked at him. "Put it together, Fox. All the times he wanted to fly with you in your Arwing even though it could only fit one of you? All the missions he took with you and ONLY you? All the nights you two have been up giggling and gossiping like little girls? You never got the vibe that he may of wanted to move things to the next level?"

While Fox sat and steeped in the news he had just gotten, Falco got up and went to the bathroom. "Ugh... all this gay talk is killin' me. I'll be in the common area when you're done defiling my room." he called.

"Whatever, Falcooooo!" Krystal said loudly, laughing when the avian flipped her off. She shook her head and looked back at Fox, who was still stunned by the recent turn of events. Krystal offered her hand to her friend and he took it.

"So tell me, do you like him?" Fox blinked.

"Do I... like... Slippy? Krystal, that's my BEST friend! I can't like him! I can't... seriously like him... can I?" he wondered. "Oh god... what did I say to him last night?"

"Well, there's always one way to find out." Krystal stared out of Falco's room and waited for Fox to follow. "You can always ask. Right?"

"Y-Yeah... yeah, I need to find him. I need to find out what I just did..." he muttered softly to himself as the duo headed for Slippy's bedroom.

* * *

Slippy had his face buried in his pillow, still somewhat damp with his tears. That was such a bust... his whole party had started off so well and then he had to open his flapping mouth and tell his best friend what he thought! He should've known better! Fox had always had a thing for Krystal- not to say he never did but it was a schoolboy crush, something he easily got over. But Fox...

There was always something about him that drew the young frog to him. Perhaps it was his sheer bravery each time he dove headfirst in a mission, the smile he gave Slippy that seemed to brighten his very soul, the late night talks they often had about the past academy, or the future or whatever came to mind and made Slippy feel so damn _important,_ or the very way he made his breath catch whenever he walked out the damn shower in nothing but a towel and grinning like nothing was wrong before clapping him on his shoulder as he walked past him sometimes-

"Oh crap!" Slippy stopped himself, feeling something... arise... and he forced himself to calm down. There was way too many thoughts in his head and now, even he had to admit, it was growing out of control.

"Fox... why you... why did I have to fall in love with you of all people...?" he asked the empty bedroom. He flipped over on his back and threw his arm over his eyes. There was no way he could face Fox after that party. It was too awkward and he needed time to sort his feelings out.

"S-Slippy? You in there, man?" Of course fate had other plans for the confused frog.

"Slippy? Can I come in? I need to talk to you." Sitting upright, Slippy collected his thoughts and got out of bed to let his best friend in.

"F-Fox? What's up?" he tried his best to appear as if nothing was wrong. Fox smiled a little at his friend before walking in and letting the door close behind him. There was a bit of awkward silence as both tried to figure out what to say next.

"So..." Fox began uncertainly, rubbing at the back of his neck. Sliipy looked off, blushing. He was so close to him now, he could just touch him and get this over with. Maybe if he could even kiss him...

"Ah, screw it. Slip, look. I need to know what happened last night. I can't remember a damn thing before we spoke and... I need to know." he begged him. Slippy bit his bottom lip and said nothing.

"Slippy, please. Can you tell me what I said? Or did?" Slippy shook his head no and started shaking. Fox's eyes widened; what the hell did he do?

Scooting closer to him, Fox reached out, intending on calming his best friend down, when Slippy's head snapped in his direction and he pushed away, almost toppling off his own bed.

"Woah, woah! Slip, chill! It's me, Fox!" Fox tried to reason with him. That soon turned into a wrestling match of sorts, with Fox trying to get Slippy to relax and Slippy trying to get Fox off him.

Slippy struggled to get from underneath Fox but the sheer strength difference made that a challenge. Fox had his arms and legs pinned underneath him within moments, and Slippy finally looked up at him, trying to avoid direct contact with his large green eyes that were probably boring holes in him right now.

"Fox, please, get off me!"

"Not until you tell me what happened last night! Did I hurt you?"

"Dammit Fox, YES you hurt me! You broke my damn heart and it hurts, okay?! Get off me!" Slippy finally snapped and shoved Fox off. Fox was tossed off and he looked at his friend with confusion and hurt in his eyes.

"I... what? What did I-"

"I told you the truth, Fox." Slippy cut him off, sighing as he got to his feet and made his way to his bed. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see Fox's expression right now. "I told you how I'd felt about you for a long time now, and... you just shot me down."

Fox didn't understand. "You... what?"

Slippy took a deep breath and stared from the beginning. He didn't think he had much left to lose anyways so it wouldn't matter. As long as got this one chance to really tell his best friend what he meant to him, what he truly FELT about him, everything would find a way to work out. At least, that's what he was hoping for.

"I shot you down? But HOW? WHEN? I can't remember a damn thing, Slip... honest, I can't." Fox pleaded, sitting up on the ground. He rubbed the back of his head where he realized he collided with something hard-probably Slippy's nightstand.

"I don't know when I started liking you. Probably back at the academy. I mean, you really were the only one who paid me any mind, you know?" Slippy said softly, fiddling with his fingers. He shrugged off the thought as if it didn't hurt him, but Fox knew Slippy better. He knew whatever he said or did to him last night would have probably shattered his heart.

"And then what?"

Sighing, Slippy continued. "I tried to reason with myself that it was wrong, that I shouldn't like you because you were my best friend and you were a boy and you would have wanted to date Krystal- and date her you did. And that got me so mad, you wouldn't believe it."

Fox scooted closer to him and flinched slightly when Slippy moved a bit away from him. "You were mad.. or jealous?"

"I think both. I mean, I... I didn't want to think she made you happy, that she... loved or cared for you like I did. I tried to act happy for you, really. Figured if I faked it and pushed thoughts of crushing on you out of my mind, I'd get over it and maybe I would realize that it wasn't meant to be. But the longer I saw you... the longer I saw you two go out on dates during our downtime, laughing with HER, smiling with HER, it... I just... it got worse. I hated her for a while."

"But why?"

"Because she got to be with the man I was falling in love with, Fox!" Slippy cried out, wishing he could keep a better cap on his emotions but finding it harder and harder to do it. "Because she got to see your true self! She got to talk to you and get into your heart in head and I couldn't and I hated her! She didn't deserve to treasure you! I did!"

Fox was silent for a moment as Slippy clumsily collected himself. He pondered everything Slippy had told him. Inside, though, his heart was racing. Here was his best friend, clumsiest pilot in the universe, but with such a big caring heart... and he wanted to share it with someone as jacked up as him? It wasn't right and it wasn't _fair._

Slippy was too kind and sweet to want someone like Fox. He deserved better, so why...?

"Slip... the night we talked... what exactly did I say?" Fox asked carefully, still unable to face his closet friend. Slippy shook his head no.

"I don't wanna talk about that, Fox."

"I need to know what I did. I hurt you, didn't I?" Fox pleaded. "I need to know... if I can make things right between us again."

Slippy smiled a little and looked at Fox. Fox's heart jumped; he hated making this kid cry more than anything in the world. Of all the people he would hurt why him? Why did it have to be _him?!_

"It's okay, Fox. I get why you did it. It... it just hurts, you know? But I'll be alright."

"Maybe, but I won't!" Fox suddenly blurted out, startling both himself and the frog. Said frog blinked in surprise. "W-Wha-?"

Fox grabbed Slippy by the shoulders and shook him a little. "Listen to me. I NEVER- and I will repeat this again, NEVER- want to hurt you, accidental or purposely. I don't remember what I said to you last night-hell, I barely remember you asking me to talk! Whatever I said, whatever I did, I was DRUNK!"

"A drunk person speaks a sober tongue, Fox..." Slippy muttered. Fox gritted his teeth, willing all the energy in him to quell so he wouldn't go crazy and punch his friend in the face.

"That... is true. But I don't believe what I said was. Please... just tell me already."

Slippy looked away from Fox, but after a long pause, finally caved in. "Y-You said... that there was no way... someone like me c-c-could be with someone like you. That you... weren't... g-gay and that you wanted to be with Krystal, and that I would find a girl in time. And when I tried to explain my feelings towards you, you laughed and said that they were fake... that I was probably just jealous because I'd never gotten laid and was desperate..."

At the last statement, Slippy's bottom lip began trembling. "I tried to laugh it off, thinking m-maybe you were... you were right, you know? That maybe I was just lonely. But... but that still hurt, Fox. We drank some more, and then you said you were thinking of asking Krystal to... get busy, to say the least. I tried to make you stop thinking things like that, and I wanted to properly tell you what I meant, so I..."

"You... what?"

"I... tried to kiss you, Fox..." Slippy whispered, his head hanging in shame and fear of what Fox would think of him. "You shoved me off and told me to stop acting like that or... or we couldn't be friends anymore..."

Fox's bone-crushing hug knocked the breath out of Slippy. "Shut up. That's enough, Slippy." Fox demanded. Slippy froze, his body pinned by Fox's arms and unable to break free.

"I get you don't think that way, Fox, but I can't help who I love... I'm sorry..." Slippy finally bawled out, sobbing heavily on his friend's shoulder. Fox smiled and closed his eyes, tears running down his own face.

"Shut the hell up, Slippy. Don't ever apologize for that. You have a right to feel how you feel." Fox choked, a lump forming in his throat. It finally clicked-everything Krystal said, the way he had felt a few times in the past but simply thought he'd been overthinking, the obvious way Slippy had put his damn heart on his sleeve- everything made sense now.

"Hey, Slippy..." Fox whispered in his ear once Slippy had cried himself out to near exhaustion. Slippy really didn't want to move from where he'd somehow ended up- curled against Fox's chest, his ear pressed over his heart- but he glanced up, eyes red from crying. "Y-Yeah...?"

What he wasn't expecting was lips crashing against his own. And by heavens, Fox's lips were warm. Very, very warm. Slippy's eyes widened with shock- what the hell just happened?

When Fox pulled him closer, Slippy gave in yet again and let himself be enveloped by his best friend's arms, his warmth, his love for him.

"I think I love you back." Fox replied once they pulled apart. He chuckled- he had a feeling he was burning red, and Slippy... well, he'd probably turn a whole new shade of something with how red he was right now.

"W-Wha... made you..." Slippy stuttered, unable to finish his question. Fox shrugged and held his lover close.

"I have no clue. Honestly... it might be because I think I finally realized what you mean to me. Besides being a good friend, of course."

Slippy thought his heart would stop at the smile Fox gave him- it wasn't his normal, confident grin, but something else... something gentle, soft, only meant for him to see... and it was beautiful.

"I thought about what you told me. What I had said and done to you last night. Krsytal knew I had a crush on you during the time I was with her. She kept trying to get info out of me, trying to crack me open, but I... I didn't want to admit that I had feelings for my best friend."

Slippy nodded, allowing Fox to continue. "The more I hid it, the more I tried to deny it, the more I realized that I really was lying to myself. I really had feelings for you, so I don't know why I said what I did to you last night. It was a damn lie and I knew it. But... I guess I thought if I hurt you... if I pushed you away and made you hide your obvious feelings for me someplace else until you forgot about it, maybe we both could just... move on and somehow become just friends again, you know?"

Fox chuckled, shaking his head as he did, before a thumb went to Slippy's cheek and wiped a tear away. "I kept being in denial when I should've just said something to you from the beginning. I'm sorry I hurt you, Slippy."

Slippy's adorable smile all but melted Fox's heart. "It's okay, Fox. I'm just glad this part is over with. So... what... what are we now?"

Fox playfully tapped his chin before catching Slippy in another off-guard kiss. "Weeeeell, I would say we're a new couple now. Sounds good?"

Slippy laughed and snuggled more against Fox's chest. "Yeah. That's perfect."

"It's official. We're a couple and we're going to be alright. I guess we should tell the others later..." Fox yawned as he stood to his feet and pulled Slippy with him. They clambered over to Slippy's bed and collapsed in it, tangled in each other's arms. Slippy agreed.

"Yeah. Later. I just want us to be alone right now."

One more kiss couldn't hurt, Fox mused to himself, and this one, he made special. He owed Slippy such a massive apology and this was the only way he could thing to convey it.

A deep kiss, full of the love that he knew he was feeling and did not have to hold back any longer. Tongues dancing, heat building between them, and Slippy's moaning made it perfect- and Fox decided this was where he wanted to be.

With a young heart who cared for a crazy being like himself.

 _'_ _Damn you, Slippy... for making me feel like this...'_

"I couldn't agree more, Slip. I love you." Fox breathed as they separated. Slippy blushed and pulled the covers up before closing his eyes and getting comfortable with his new boyfriend.

"I love you too, Fox. And thank you."

"Hmm... for what, Slip?" Fox murmured sleepily.

"For this." he whispered against his chest as he threw an arm about his stomach and stayed close. He wasn't afraid anymore. He knew now what Fox had been going through, how much he regretted what he had done, and oddly enough, it was thanks to that night that they made it here. They had a future waiting for them, and they would be able to face it together.

 **END**

* * *

 **And complete!**

 **Like I mentioned, this is my first time writing about these characters, so please let me know if there's anything I can work on or improve or whatnot. And for Ravonic, I hope he liked this story and that there was enough romance in it!**

 **Until next time!**


End file.
